THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE Is Still Not Dead, Headed To Theaters

The saga of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, the decades-in-the-making Terry Gilliam project (which has suffered more unexpected setbacks than possibly any other film production in my lifetime), finally appeared to be coming to an earlier this year when Gilliam successfully screened the film at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

Sure, there was a bit of unfortunate back-and-forth about the legality of that screening and, indeed, who could actually claim ownership of the thing, but it also felt like that'd be the final hurdle in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote's journey to theaters. Then, back in September, the film screened at this year's Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX, and again it seemed like Gilliam's passion project was more-or-less in the clear. For fans who'd been patiently waiting to finally lay eyes on this bad boy, it was a very exciting time.

And then: nothing. In the months since the film's screening at Fantastic Fest, there's been little to no information about what's been happening with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, or when anyone might get to see it.

Today, we've finally got an update to offer you: according to The Hollywood Reporter, Screen Media has secured the North American rights to the film, with an eye towards releasing it in theaters this coming March. Of course, there's every reason to believe yet another awful calamity will befall Quixote before then (Screen Media might go bankrupt, movies might be declared illegal, God himself might suddenly appear and personally destroy every copy of the film on the planet), but finding out what kind of curveball the universe is gonna throw at this thing is all part of the fun.

In the meantime, I caught The Man Who Killed Don Quixote at that Fantastic Fest screening and, uh, well...it's not a bad movie, per se (our own Russ Fischer seemed to enjoy it a bit more than I did, for what it's worth), but I found it tremendously difficult to separate the final product from everything I've learned about the film's troubled history. The prevailing emotion I felt after watching it was, "That's what all this was for? Really?" Your mileage may vary.

Anyway, like it says above: current plan is for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote to hit theaters in March. Stay tuned for the inevitable curveball, which should be along any moment now.

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Scott Wampler is an online film blogger, Podcast host, and man of constant sorrow living in Austin, TX. His likes include CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, the filmography of David Lynch, and the conspicuous consumption of alcohol. Dislikes include people and unfrosted Pop-Tarts.